BENTON, Ill. (WJPF) – A East Prairie Missouri man will spend the next 35 years in prison for making arrangements to have sex with a child in southern Illinois.
Federal prosecutors say 38-year-old Jason Rodriquez, formerly known as Jason Smith, used an online dating website to connect with an undercover agent who was posing as a man willing to let strangers have sex with his 8-year-old daughter in exchange for $150. Rodriquez eventually talked with the undercover agent on the phone and agreed to travel to Marion from St. Louis, where he worked as a nurse, to complete the deal.
When Rodriquez arrived in Marion on March 26, 2020, he was arrested. After his arrest, law enforcement found $150 and an unopened bag of candy in his vehicle which Rodriquez was told the 8-year-old would be expecting. Law enforcement also found over 20,000 pictures and videos of child pornography on Rodriquez’s cell phone.
